World Blood Donor Day

Today is World Blood Donor Day! WBDD is celebrated every June 14th to raise awareness of the need for blood donations every day! There is no substitute for blood, so the only way to get blood is through unpaid donations from donors. Today (and, for us, every day) we celebrate blood donors and say thank you for all they do to save so many lives! With the slogan “Give the gift of life: donate blood”, this year’s campaign, the 10th anniversary of World Blood Donor Day, will focus on the value of donated blood to the patient. There is value not only in saving lives but also in helping people live longer and more productive lives.

To save this photo, just right click on the image and select 'Save Image As'. From there, save it on to your desktop and change your profile picture so your friends know you save lives!

How can you join in the celebration? Well, if you are a blood donor, make it known! As a lifesaver who donates blood, let your family and friends know you save lives as a blood donor by changing your Facebook profile photo to the “I Save Lives” photo to the right! Also, ask your family and friends to change their Facebook profile pics to help celebrate!

If you are not a blood donor, take the time today to become one! Stop by your local blood bank, and make a lifesaving donation!

Thank you to all the amazing blood donors who are doing their part to save lives! You are all truly heroes!

June 14th is World Blood Donor Day, which is a particularly important day for us here at Incept.

It’s the day we celebrate and honor blood donors from around the world who give up a little of their time (and blood) to help someone in need. Most blood donors will never know who their blood eventually helps, but they donate anyway – sometimes several times a year – for no other reason than because they want to do something altruistic to benefit someone else. World Blood Donor Day is for them.

World Blood Donor Day was started on June 14th, 2004, in Johannesburg, South Africa by the World Health Organization (also known as WHO), as a way to encourage voluntary blood donation throughout the world. This holiday really demonstrates the need for donors to regularly give blood to prevent shortages in hospitals and clinics within their community. The need for donors is especially dire in developing countries where the amount of blood donated is scarce. According to the WHO, out of the 80 countries with low blood donation rates (ie: countries where fewer than 10 people out of every thousand donate), 79 are developing nations. By celebrating World Blood Donor Day, we’re able to raise the awareness of just how important being a volunteer blood donor really is.

Some might ask why hospitals and blood centers don’t simply offer to pay individuals for their blood if the need is so great. Admittedly, this is an idea that makes sense, but it’s not without risks. By offering to pay for blood, it raises the likelihood that the blood you received wouldn’t be safe to give to someone else. Studies have shown that blood donated for profit is more likely to come from individuals who have medical conditions that could make it dangerous for another person to receive their blood, or that the “donors” themselves might donate too frequently, putting themselves in harm’s way. By only taking volunteers, blood centers are more likely to have donors who are healthy, making the blood in our hospitals that much safer.

This year, the theme for World Blood Donor Day is “More blood. More life.” This theme really drives home the need for more people to become regular donors. Even here in the U.S., we sometimes have blood shortages. Out of the 38% of people eligible to donate blood, fewer than 10% actually donate on a regular basis. When you consider that about 4.5 million Americans alone will a need blood transfusion every year, the need for blood donations becomes staggeringly obvious.

Donating blood is very important. By spending just one hour to donate a pint of blood, you could be helping up to three people who desperately need it.

From all of us here at Incept, we want to wish you a happy World Blood Donor Day this June 14th!

Blood, needles, doctors, nurses, injury, surgery, emergency, accident… Any or all of these for any of a number of people can (and for the most part, do) have a negative connotation. Those who have had their own personal experiences with these things can easily recall heartrending moments in which something unfortunate happened to a friend, acquaintance or family member.

Yet, what about those whose calling in life is to deal with that very list on a daily basis? These individuals might include firefighters, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), hospital employees and police officers? Each of these people see firsthand the bittersweet mixture of tragedy and triumph. These same people are the most familiar with the tools needed to see the triumph through the tragedy.

Simply put, there are only three tools needed:

The willingness to help

Time

Knowledge

Perhaps I should back up for a moment and give some personal background. My name is Brian Kost, a Conversational Marketing Expert (CME) here at Incept. My father was an EMT/firefighter before I was even a thought in his mind and now is the lieutenant at the same station back home. My hometown is a very small community, so the fire department was effectively an extended family to all of us. And as often happens within families, children grew up taking on the values of the family as their own.

Add to that bit of background the fact that, while going through grade school, my mother was also going to school and achieved her degree in registered nursing. Soon after her graduation, she was working full time as a registered nurse (RN) at one of the local hospitals. Now, considering the amount of schooling and continuing education (CE) required for those who work in Emergency Response or Nursing, there was always a vast array of textbooks, manuals and literature around our house regarding the care of the human body. With that much information always lying about, coupled with my voracious appetite for reading,

I was able to get a closer glimpse into the lives my parents led and the tools they needed to do their respective jobs.

Later in my life, I was able to do some work at a local hospital, assisting with the registration of emergency room (ER) patients. Since I worked the late-night shift, and our hospital was a Level 1 Trauma Center, all manner of untold stories either walked or got wheeled into our doors – each one needing desperate help. The faster and more efficiently I was able to do my job, the faster and more effective the medical staff could be at assisting those in need. Now, do not get me wrong. A slip of paper or form will not slow down whether or not someone is going to get assistance in a time of need; however, if that person has perhaps been a patient of that hospital before, then having that information handy can speed up access to everything from emergency contact information to blood type.

This brings us full circle. The phrase often used, yet still true is, “Blood, there is no substitute.” I’ve seen firsthand medical professionals worry about the local blood supply. I’ve seen firsthand the tears of joy of complete strangers who have reason to rejoice due to someone else giving blood. Both of these are moments that just sear themselves to your soul.

With Incept being a blood donor recruiter center, this is not just simply “what we do.” This is “what we do well.” We are not a business filled with doctors and emergency technicians; we are a business filled with mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, students and veterans, men and women. However, not being trained health care professionals does not diminish our role in the process of helping others see triumph through the tragedy. We’re the ones who help make sure that when the doctor needs something – be it red blood cells, platelets or whole blood itself – that it is there. We are the ones who assist in recruiting the select few (less than 10% of all those who are eligible to donate actually do) who give of themselves to help save others.

It is the combination of this very same professional goal and my personal background that tell the tale of why I donate blood. Not only do I spend my working hours finding people who have that willingness to help, I also show through my own actions and spend my own time and energy helping others – being a piece of that grand symphony of motion that saves lives. I have the opportunity to help give people the knowledge of both the need for blood and where they can go to help others, facilitating their process by finding that combination of donation location and time which best fits their own personal life and world. I have the opportunity to follow my own words with action.

I am not my father, who gives of himself to save others from either fire or accident.

At Incept, we gave thanks to everyone who saves lives, and gives the gift of life to others, through their selfless blood donations by celebrating World Blood Donor Day. Our staff felt the need to make sure that every blood donor knew just how grateful we are for their kindness.

Subsequently, here are a few of the many members of our Incept Saves team, giving some much needed praise to everyone out there who unselfishly gives to save the lives of others:

No matter how many times or how loud we say it – no matter if we sing or speak the words – the message is clear: Thank You, Thank You, Thank You! If you’re a blood donor, we hope you know how grateful we (and those you have helped) are for your compassion and kindness.

On Monday, June 14th, people everywhere will be celebrating World Blood Donor Day. Since saving lives by scheduling blood donors is the foundation of everything our Incept Saves team does, we feel it’s only proper for us to celebrate and educate people about what WBDD stands for.

What it is: World Blood Donor Day is celebrated on June 14th every year. It’s an event that gives us an opportunity to express gratitude to those who donate their blood in order to save lives, without a desire to recieve anything in return. In a world where the majority of people don’t have access to safe blood when they need it, millions of peoples’ lives have been saved by blood donations given by complete strangers. WBDD is our chance to stop and recognize those individuals, as well as everyone who makes it possible to save lives by donating their time and blood to people they will never meet.

What Incept is doing: We’ve decided that WBDD is so important to us that we actually moved our Employee of the Month ceremony to Monday the 14th so we could recognize the individuals at Incept who help us save lives on a day where the entire focus falls onto lifesavers. To make sure the word is spread, we’re handing out fliers and educating our CMEs about World Blood Donor Day and what it means to each of us, as well as getting our employees signed up for blood drives. Besides contacting blood recipients, there are t-shirts being designed, things to learn, and there is also a special Incept World Blood Donor Day video in the works! Basically, we’ve made WBDD into a company holiday geared towards celebrating everything amazing and important that we do in the blood donation industry.

What you can do: If you are already a blood donor, then THANK YOU! This is all about praising you for the lives you save. If you haven’t had a chance to donate blood yet, there’s no better time to get started than the present. Let people know that there’s a real need for blood all over the world. Over 80 million units of blood are donated every year, but only 38% are collected in developing countries where 82% of the global population lives. That means each and every unit of blood someone gives voluntarily can make a difference. Check out the World Blood Donor Day website if you want to learn more about how you can help. And make sure to spread the word, tell your friends and family members, the family next door, your coworkers and everyone you run into how important it is to donate blood. Odds are you’re going to find someone who has donated blood before. When you do, be sure to thank them for it.

With blood centers around the world preparing to celebrate World Blood Donor Day 2010, I am incredibly proud to work for an organization who does everything in their power to assist their blood center clients. My colleagues and I are looking forward to this day, as a tribute to why we do what we do.

With guest speakers scheduled, games, blood donor pledge forms, and heartfelt stories all lined up, I find myself wondering what the difference is between Incept and a blood center. I concluded that blood centers focus on collecting and testing blood, whereas Incept is responsible for cultivating the donor relationships and ensuring that donors give the gift of life. But with both of us working together, we can make a sizable difference.

Does that sound a bit dramatic? I admit, it may. However, when I take a step back and truly think about things, there is simply no substitute for human blood. None. At this time, if you or someone you love needs blood, the only way to get it is from a volunteer blood donor. That moves me in a way that is truly indescribable.

We help to save lives. Hundreds and thousands each and every day. We are responsible for educating and recruiting the donors that walk through the doors of blood centers across the nation while ultimately ensuring that units of blood and blood components are available for those in need.

I am anxious to celebrate this day and this event, but, most importantly, I am looking forward to the ongoing and annual commitment. Saving lives needs to happen every day, not just on June 14th. Let’s use this day for awareness and pledge for a lifetime of giving.

So what will you do on June 14th? Will you make your first donation? Will you pledge to be a blood donor? Will you pledge to save lives?